Tough getting past the term "stool transplant," but as one who had a 5-day hospital stay turned into 20 two years ago, mostly unconscious but hallucinating, due to c. diff. infection, I'd have probably gone for it, given the choice. It was an exceptionally bad time.

In "The Making of A Surgeon" by William A. Nolen, M.D. [published in 1970 - wow - 40 years ago] - some residents had read an article on this - and, outside protocols - tried it out on a patient. Much backpedaling and "sanitizing" of procedure entailed when discovered.

There had been a front page article about real (that is from humans, so NOT synthetic) poop transplants in the "Plain Dealer" in Cleveland, OH last week. We have been discussing these for maybe two years already on my MS forum.

Maybe only eight U.S. hospitals are doing the fecal matter transplants currently, but they are life savers. It is RARE but has actually been given in a milkshake and it worked.

Google it. An elderly woman from Ohio went to (Mayo clinic possibly????) had it done and within only a few hours began to feel much better. It can be miraculous in some people, albeit gross to hear about.

Hence both the synthetic versions and now the race to isolate the good bacteria and try to put it into a pill form, rather than having to do the stool transplants. Supposedly, fecal transplants had been done in China centuries ago.

In the age of medical consumerism (and everything else consumerism) you can now buy designer poop.

Particularly amused that they're going to use it to treat other conditions such as obesity. How long until someone reproduces the bacterial colonies of celebrities or athletes? Poop it like Beckham in just three days!

That said, I wonder if this could be an effective treatment for irritable bowel? Which, while admittedly low on the serious-conditions scale, is not particularly joyful to live with.

May I just say as part of our donor outreach program we sponsor an annual Walk & Marathon with several celebrity participants, where we give out popular T-shirts and swag (brown) all emblazoned with our slogan:

I've cared for elderly people who have died from c-diff. I've heard of the faecal transplants but I don't think there's anyone near me that does them. I like the idea of the synthetic faeces but as a previous poster said the name is a bit dodgy.

Transfaunation in herbivores is common in veterinary practice. Imbalance in gut/rumenfauna kills herbivores. Rumen content or feaces from healthy animals is used for that. So no need to snigger except at the name.

C diff colitis is no laughing matter, along with MRSA, VRE = meaner and nastier "bugs" thanks in large part to overuse and inappropriate use of antibiotics. For many the reoccurance rate is high, along with increase in comorbidity, not to mention death. Stool transplant has been administered with "tube" technique which is invasive. Milkshake version is non invasive. Look up how many pounds of bug and rodent waste you likely eat a year, and sanitized medical milkshake to save your life looks pretty lame in comparison. Hey, not to late to get your flu shot!

It's not just elderly people at risk from C. Dif. My cousin was in the hospital for a broken rib and nearly died from the C. Dif. She is only 58 and is a doctor herself so people were taking good care of her.

"A little over 40 years ago (1970 to be precise), I read a book that had a profound effect on my future. It was Dr. William Nolen’s The Making of A Surgeon, which recounted his surgical internship at Bellevue Hospital during the 1950s."

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